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NHL playoffs: Defiant Habs dispatch Big Bad Bruins to advance: Arthur

BOSTON—Montreal wasn’t scared. Montreal wasn’t scared of the big bad Bruins, of the bullies, of Game 7 in the Garden. They weren’t afraid of Zdeno Chara, of Milan Lucic, of getting hit. They weren’t afraid of what can happen in the third period of a Game 7 in this building. They weren’t afraid of elimination. Turns out, they didn’t need to be.

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 7 of their second-round series, and outscored the Bruins 7-1 over the last two games of this playoff crucible. What did P.K. Subban say, after Game 6? “I can’t wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. I can’t wait to take that all away from them.”

It was a statement of defiance, a manifesto. And it came true.

“I thought we competed hard against a bigger team, a stronger team, a more experienced team,” said Subban, who in a simpler world would be considered a future captain. “People were saying don’t poke the bear, but I thought they gave us many reasons to keep competing in the series. That’s a character win for us. That’s a character series win for us.

“Especially for the guys who have been here, for the guys who were here for the run in 2010, who were here when we lost (to Boston in 2011 in) Game 7, they were just sick of it. Sick and tired of people disrespecting us and not giving us the credit that we deserve. I think we earned a lot of respect today.”

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The Habs talked a lot about the way the Bruins poked at them — as Daniel Brière put it, “the water bottle, the flexing of the muscles, the helmet tossing by (Brad) Marchand, the punching at the end of last game.”

Max Pacioretty admitted it might seem stupid to someone outside the series, but he believes the Canadiens frustrated Boston by just playing through it, by not backing down. He added that since Montreal could see a lot of Boston in the playoffs under the new format, they needed to know they could do this.

So, they were defiant. David Desharnais said that after Game 5 the Habs realized that they could pressure Chara, and when he tired he was “just another defenceman.” Nobody ever backed down from Lucic. Shawn Thornton’s contribution was squirting water on Subban from the bench, which fuelled the perceived disrespect.

And of the two teams, it was Boston that looked nervous. In their ninth Game 7 since 2008, the Bruins looked like they had all just arrived at a party where nobody knew one another, and then were asked to perform trust-building exercises.

Fourth-liner Dale Weise scored Montreal’s first goal, from Brière, whose playoff magic has not yet been exhausted, just 2:18 into the game. Boston pushed hard in the second, but two little guys — Desharnais, a healthy scratch earlier this season and great on Wednesday, and Brendan Gallagher — kept a puck in the Boston zone, and took it away from the great Patrice Bergeron, and Pacioretty drilled it from the left faceoff circle, and it was 2-0.

“I thought we had it,” said Bergeron. “I didn’t gamble on that play. It was just, I really thought we had it.”

Boston got one back from Jarome Iginla, but that was all. Carey Price was magnificent, and when Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk took a flat-footed interference penalty, Brière rushed in and banked a pass off Chara’s immobile skate. That was it.

“I think our team solved a lot of the critics,” said Weise. “They say we’re too small and the big, bad Bruins are going to manhandle us. You look at our small guys—look at (Gallagher) and (Brian Gionta), (Mike Weaver). . . . We just have so many little guys that just compete, and they’re tenacious on the puck. I can’t say enough good things about them.”

There was no Bruins comeback like the one a year and a day ago; there was just a Canadiens team that came in here and beat their old rival, all the way. The Bruins had two chances to eliminate Montreal, and in both cases were outclassed by a more desperate team, whose best players were better than Boston’s best.

The absence of fear and the stellar goaltending of Price defined Montreal in this series. That, and Subban’s cri de coeur.

“All that matters is the guys in this dressing room, the organization, and my coaches,” said Subban. “I really don’t care what people have to say. I really don’t care what the other team thinks. I don’t care what their fans think. If they hate me, great, hate me. We’ll just keep winning, I’ll keep scoring, and we’ll move on. That’s my attitude.

Subban also talked about the history between these two teams, and what it meant to him. It meant a lot.

“That’s the way I approached this series,” said Subban. “When you see all of the highlight videos and when they talk about the history of the rivalry and you see all the players I’m saying to myself: Wow, I’m going to be a part of that. Thirty or 40 years from now, when the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens meet in the playoffs again, they’re going to show clips of me and Pricey and all of us playing.

“By that time hopefully I have some kids and they’ll be able to watch me on TV. Hey, they won’t be thinking that all of the stories I’m telling them are lies. They can actually see it. I think that’s pretty cool, that’s unique. It’s very special to be part of something like this.”

While most of the Bruins were respectful and gracious in defeat — Thornton embraced Subban — one Bruin still had to play the bully. As Lucic shook hands with Weise, the fourth-line journeyman who flexed a bicep back at the hulking Bruins terror in Game 6, they stopped.

According to the TV replays, Lucic appeared to say, “I’m going to f------ kill you next year.” He apparently told Alexei Emelin something similar. Weise wouldn’t confirm it, and Lucic said Weise was a “baby” for saying anything at all. A bully to the end.

But it didn’t matter, because the bully’s going home. It’s the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final, and the Habs will start the series at home. Subban said he couldn’t wait. He said, “I feel sorry for any team that’s got to come into our building, and our city.

“It’s going to be spectacular. I can’t even explain it. You’ve just got to be there, man. So get your tickets.”

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